CUSHION WORKS

Wool Seat Cushions

2012-02-17T10:13:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we are asked to manufacture a seat cushion that utilizes more “natural” materials which means no foam and no fire retardants. Finding the right materials is a challenge given the strict fire code regulations we are required to follow in California.

Cotton is not an option because without a fire retardant treatment it is flammable. Down and feather, although naturally fire dampening, is much too soft for most people when used as the sole component of a seat cushion. 100% natural latex is flammable and does not meet California fire codes.

Spring unit and a roll of wool batting.

Wool however is both naturally fire dampening and can also provide good support in a seat cushion. We construct our wool cushions two ways. We use either a spring core that is wrapped with wool batting or we can make a solid wool cushion. Either construction is very full and round. You can see in the pictures the relative distance between the boxing measurment on the cover and the much higher crown in the middle.

We will wrap the spring unit with several layers of wool.

Spring/Wool or Solid Wool cushions have a very high crown.

In the spring core / wool wrapped cushion, we build a spring unit and then wrap it with wool batting until we have buried the edginess of the spings. Springs are available in in different guages which can be soft, medium or firm.

Solid Wool Cushion

Also, wool on it’s own can be layered to make a firm, fluffy cushion.

New Foam Cushions

2011-12-15T10:42:00.000-08:00

Switching out the old foam cushions for new ones always makes a difference. The job pictured above was for a customer’s 20 year old sofa. The cushions were flat, the covers loose and they were too soft to sit on comfortably. Since he has teenage twins who love playing video games on this the primary sofa in the house, he needed to firm the seats up. We measured the covers and as you can see from the picture, they were designed to contain a much thicker cushion than what they had become. We fit the cushions with a firm High Resiliency foam that was wrapped with bonded polyester. As you can see in these photos, the difference is dramatic.

By the way, these cushions were High Resiliecy (HR ) foam, density 2.5lb, ILD 45, cut 24” x 24” x 5 1/2” thick with a bonded polyester wrap and were $78 ea. The turnaround was 1 week.

Send us an email if you need help with your project.

The Boxing Panel

2011-11-07T10:07:00.000-08:00

The measurement of the boxing panel of a seat or back cushion is crucial in determining the thickness of foam that we will use. Our approach is to use a thickness of foam that is the same dimension as the height of the boxing, i.e. 3" boxing on the cover gets a 3" thick foam core. The foam is the firmest part of the cushion and we want the edge of the foam to line up with the seams of the cover and hold them straight. The material that is wrapped around the foam, whether it be polyester, down/feather or wool, just adds to the total thickness of the cushion, which we call the "crown".

Poly / Down Seat Cushion

2011-11-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

By Poly / Down we mean a seat cushion with a foam core that is inside a down/feather filled envelope (or jacket). Old timers refer to polyurethane foam as "poly" and "down" refers to a down and feather blend. Some common blends for cushions are 10% down/90% feather, 25% down/75% feather (pictured below) and 50% down/50% feather.

We used the original cover (at the top left) as a pattern for cutting the foam.
The finished boxing on the cover is 4" so we used a 4" thick High Resiliency
foam core. The thickness of the foam is the same as the finished boxing
so that the edges of the foam to line up with the seams of
the cover to hold them straight and tight.

Our down & feather filled jacket is cut a little larger than the finished size
of the cover. It also includes a crown allowance which allows finished
cushion to be very full and round. We also sew partitions into the ticking.
This keeps the down/feather in separate channels which helps
the customer to maintain the cushion. It also allows for the high
crown that is indicative of this type of construction.

A zipper at the back of the cushion makes it easy to access the foam core
for maintenance.

The foam core is inserted into the envelope.

Zipped up.

This cushion has a crown of about 8". The foam is 4" thick.

The finished cushion ready to be covered.

Toss Pillows - Three Different Seams

2011-10-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

A toss pillow can be cut and sewn a couple of different ways.

A Knife Edge (left) is just two pieces of fabric that are sewn together.

A Boxed pillow (center) has a band of fabric sewn between the front and back panels which allows for more fullness.

A pillow with Cut-Outs (right) is similar in fullness to the boxed pillow, but still has a single seam around the perimeter like a Knife Edge pillow. The third dimension is achieved by the perpendicular cut-outs at each corner.

Left - Boxed Pillow
Right - Cut-Out Pillow

Knife Edge Pillows - Crown Allowance vs Straight Cut

2011-10-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

Before you order your pillow forms, check your cover or with your sewing workroom to see if you covers are cut with a Crown Allowance or are Straight Cut. We make our pillows to order and can accommodate either approach. Unless we are told otherwise, all of our pillows are cut with a crown allowance (or bow).

Crown Allowance: When a pillow is cut this way is filled, the sides tend to be straighter.

Straight Cut: When a pillow is cut this way the sides pull in when filled and
the corners become sharper, what we call "dog ears".

Foam Puzzle Back Cushion

2011-10-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

A stack of random foam?

Sort by shape.

Assemble

Glue pieces together

Wrap with polyester, line with muslin.

This project required a profile with a curve on the top front of the cushion with 90 degree angles on the back and bottom. We broke down the finished shape into easy to cut pieces that we later assembled.

The Making of a Bench Cushion

2011-09-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

This bench cushion has a long cut out in the middle. We first mark the foam and then cut with the foam saw.

All foam is cut with perfectly flat sides. It is difficult to get a cover to be tight on a flat surface, so we wrap the foam with either a polyester or a down/feather envelope to help tighten the top and bottom panels of the cover. For this cushion we are gluing the bonded polyester to the foam.

The polyester is cut to the same shape as the foam. On this cushion, it sits on the top and bottom of the foam core only. We left the edges free of polyester because we want the cover to have a flat front.

The foam in these photos is 2 1/2" thick and will be covered with a cover that has a finished boxing panel of 2 1/2" too. The edges of the foam will hold the piping on the cover straight while the polyester will push up against the top and bottom panels, creating a crown and making the cover look tight and fit.

Recipe for Wedge Shaped Foam

2011-09-01T16:34:00.001-07:00

Start with 1 block of foam.

Slice at desired angle.

Separate!

The angled cut always yields 2 wedges.

Note: If you need only 1 wedge shape, we cut the wedge from a block that is half as wide as your finished product. Then we glue the cut pieces side to side to create a shape that is the full width. For example, if we need one wedge that is 36" wide, we cut the shapes from a block that is 18" wide and then glue the two 18" pieces together to make 36".

Kilim Pillow Power

2011-08-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

We love having a stack of beautiful covers to fill and Nomad Rugs' most recent selection of Turkish Kilim covers are really dazzling. We especially like the flyaway "hair" patches that some of the covers sport (see that purple patch in the front row). Five or six of these beauties sprinkled about will really punch up a room.

Gone

2011-08-22T09:59:00.001-07:00

Apparently our side doors were the prefect black background for this reversed silhouette paper tag.

Not to encourage this kind of thing, but this is pretty neat.

Marimekko at Crate and Barrel

2011-08-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

We love the Marimekko store located in the Crate and Barrel store in Union Square (that's San Francisco). It is full of housewares, dishes, books, linens, bags, things for the kids and yards of fabric. It's like a trip to Finland in the 70's.

Just please don't ask us to make a form to fit a pillow like these!

Dried Crumbled Latex Foam

2011-07-29T05:39:00.000-07:00

Over time, Latex foam dries, crumbles and turns to dust. We have replaced these disasters many many times over the years. The dust is very fine, so work with a mask and vacuum the covers thoroughly before replacing the foam.

Water Draining through Drifast Foam

2011-07-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

For seat cushions that are going to be left outside we use Drifast Foam. The foam has large open cels and rigid cel walls which make for a cushion that is both firm and won't retain water. Indoor foam has much smaller cells and absorbs water like a sponge. Once the water inside the foam, it can't be wrung out.

Dog Pads Fitted for the Honda Element

2011-07-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Over the years, we've made these super comfortable pet pads for several Honda Elements.

The cushion is made with a 2" thick bottom layer of High Density Firm foam, and a 2" top layer of Memory foam (Visco Elastic, the foam that is used most notably in Tempur-Pedic mattresses). The firm layer provides more than enough cushion for any breed of dog (or human) while the Memory foam makes for a super soft, squishy surface that conforms to the body.

With the seats taken out, the wide, deep, flat floor of the Element make for spacious lounging possibilities. If you plan to car camp, the pads can make for a cozy night's sleep either inside the car or placed on the ground.

We have a wide variety of durable, colorful fabrics to choose from.

We provide a generous zipper to allow for easy removal of the covers for washing.

The Goat

2011-07-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

Our side doors are frequently hit with graffiti, always an unimaginative tag and we never waste any time before covering it up with black paint. Recently a paper portrait of a goat was glued to a door and we liked it so much that we left it until the heat caused the glue to turn brittle, the paper started to peel and finally someone carried it away.

(the goat is on the left, Vevay on the right)

Pedal Power

2011-07-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

Usually our customers use a car to drop off and pick up orders. However, with the right size bag, this one a prototype made by Timbuk2, pedaling your back cushion over Nob Hill is a cinch!

Our Equipment - The Rotary Cutter

2011-07-15T14:33:00.001-07:00

Different Types of Polyester Wraps around a Foam Core

2011-06-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

The most basic cushion construction is a foam core with a polyester wrap. The foam provides the support and lines up with the seams in the depth, width and boxing of the cushion. Foam is cut with a straight blade and is perfectly flat on all sides. It is difficult to have a cover be tight and wrinkle-free on a flat surface. To aid in the fit and to soften the appearance of the foam, we wrap it with polyester (and down/feather, but that is for another entry). The polyester pushes out against the cover which tightens it and eliminates wrinkles. Below is a discussion of two types of polyester wrap.

High Density foam w/ Dacron 91 wrap, muslin tick

With use, all foam gets softer and all polyester flattens. High Density foam, which is available in five levels of firmness, resists softening the best. The best option for wrapping the foam is with Dacron 91 made by DuPont. It's springy fiber stays fluffy and resists flattening best out of all the polyester battings. To hold everything in place we make a muslin lined jacket out of the Dacron 91 and the foam core fits inside. The jacket is closed with a zipper at the back.

High Density Foam w/ bonded wrap, glued, no lining

Bonded polyester is the easiest, quickest batting to work with. It is cut to size and glued to the surface of the foam. Bonded polyester has the least amount of resiliency and will flatten the quickest. We have 4 different weights (thicknesses) of bonded polyester to choose from: 1/2 oz. , 3/4 oz., 1 oz. & 1 1/4 oz.

Persian Ottomans and Foam Interiors

2011-06-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

We often see customer's who have returned from a trip to North Africa or the Middle East with beautiful, but empty, ottoman covers. Usually the opening runs across the diameter which means that the best filling material is by hand with either cotton or wool. Recently a customer brought in these ottoman covers that she purchased in Iran.

They were made with a zipper at the bottom that went around the circumference (see below). This allowed us to insert firm pieces of foam cut to make the covers tight and the structure stable. By using foam instead of cotton or wool, the result was stronger and a more even in shape. The dozens of stripes around the side looked vibrant and neat.

This ottoman was the show stopper. The racetrack shape framed the colorful design and made for a unique shape that was the most comfortable of all.

Slouchy Back Cushions Get New Foam

2011-06-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

Most back cushions are filled with polyester. With use this type of cushion starts to slouch, dent and look baggy in the cover. Usually we replace these misshapen forms with fresh polyester or down/feather. Sometimes we are after a firmer, more resilient cushion and that is where foam comes in.

The set of slouchy back cushions (pictured above on the left) for this job had an extra challenge. The seams of the cover were knife-edged. This means that we have to taper the edge of the foam so that it meets the single seam of the cover nicely.

We then wrapped the foam with Dacron 91 batting (very resilient to resist denting) and fit the form into a muslin tick. This will allow the customer to easily remove the outer cover. In these pictures, the new cushion sits beside its mate already fitted into the finished cover.

These cushions are going to look fresh and full for many years to come.

Kitty Siesta on the 3rd Floor

2011-05-24T14:43:00.000-07:00

Cushion Works featured in MissionLocal

2011-05-06T11:33:00.000-07:00

Our local neighborhood newspaper, MissionLocal, has posted a short photo essay about Cushion Works on their web-site. Have a look!

Don't Skimp on the Zip!

2011-04-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

On occasion we are given the unhappy task of informing our customers that the zipper on the short end of the 12 foot long cover isn't anywhere near large enough to let us insert a cushion. When you have your cover made for that long window seat, make sure that you have the zipper installed along the entire width of the cushion. Zipper is the least expensive component in your project so be generous!

(actual cover with too short zipper)

2011-04-18T13:29:00.000-07:00

Seamstress extraordinaire Teresa sews the boxing panel onto a cushion that will soon be filled with down and feather to make a super comfortable back cushion. Tang, the lazy shop cat, won't even lend a paw.

Polka Dotted Comfort

2011-04-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

For this window seat cushion we used a firm High Resiliency foam for support and a sturdy Dacron 91 wrap to provide fullness against years of use. The brilliantly polka-dotted cover was expertly fabricated by Riitta Herwitz Design Support (riitta@riittaherwitz.com).

Spring Core Cushion with Down and Feather Wrap

2011-02-26T13:57:00.000-08:00

Start with carefully cut foam borders, topper and bottom.

Spring core fits inside, foam masks the edges of the springs.

Apply 3M Super 77 to make foam box with springs inside.

Wrap foam/spring unit with Dacron 91 sewn one side

like a birthday present. Finish edges with staples.

Fluffy, soft down and feather filled envelope fits

around spring/foam/Dacron unit. Zip it up.

High crown, super comfortable, fluffable,

the Spring Core/Down and Feather Cushion!

2011-02-20T20:39:00.000-08:00

Mythbusters!

Check out our scrap foam being used in to break Adam Savage's fall in the recent Mythbusters' episode Dumpster Diving.

2011-02-20T20:36:00.000-08:00

We are in The New York Times!

Cushion Works is mentioned in the Home Section for 7/22/10! Read down to the section about Kasie Maxwell and her San Francisco menagerie.

Mid Century Modern Cushions - Keep 'em Flat

2011-02-15T17:27:00.000-08:00

For seat cushions we usually wrap the foam core with a soft material such as polyester or a down/feather filled envelope. The purpose of this is to tighten the cover and eliminate wrinkles. However, some furniture styles require a leaner, flatter look, and because foam is cut with a straight blade and has perfectly flat surfaces, it can be a challenge to fill a cover with just foam and have the cover be snug in all directions.

The covers shown here have foam only inserts. To make the covers tight, we cut the foam about a half an inch thicker than the boxing panel on the cover. Not all covers will allow for this approach though.